Chapter 120: Chapter 120: System's Counter

"His defense is not infallible! If you hit his face, at some point he will die!"

Fathoran roared with rage, redoubling his attacks.

Elio: 74 - 5 = 1 / 68 Armor.

But Elio continued, determined to transmit everything he could.

Elio: 69 - 5 = 1 / 63 Armor.

"Don't be intimidated! His mana is almost depleted!"

Elio: 64 - 5 = 1 / 58 Armor.

The soldiers murmured among themselves, the information spreading like wildfire in a dry field. Elio saw the doubt in their eyes replaced by a spark of hope as he received small cuts from his opponent's sword.

"You can advance on your own!" Elio continued, blocking another of Fathoran's attacks. "You don't need a leader to decide your fate, not even me!"

Elio: 59 - 5 = 1 / 53 Armor.

Fathoran, his eyes bloodshot, shouted, "Of course they need it! God designed it this way! Without a leader, without me, they will all perish!"

Elio: 54 - 5 = 1 / 48 Armor.

Fathoran, enraged, lunged for Elio's neck, but a fireball impacted him.

Elio, dodging by millimeters a cut that would have been fatal thanks to the support...

Shook his head.

"No! There's nothing about that in the book. The limit, everything... surely it has a solution if we work together."

Another fireball was launched at Fathoran, but he cut it with his sword.

Fathoran's laughter resonated, laden with bitterness and disdain. "Together? The only ones who work together are your family. The others don't care about you. No... Even your own family betrays you!

There can only be one leader! I was with..."

Fathoran stepped back to dodge two fireballs.

"No!" Elio responded, his voice firm despite his exhaustion. "Seeking freedom is not betrayal. You betrayed the city, you betrayed us all by hiding the truth!"

Around them, dozens of fireballs formed in front of the line of summoners, ready to be launched.

Fathoran, now separated from Elio by a few meters, halted his attack for a moment, his face contorted with fury and something else... doubt?

"Fine," he spat. "Let's suppose you're right. What's your solution to the population limit? Will you kill all my children? My entire family? The mothers and unborn babies?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and loaded with implications. Elio felt everyone's eyes on him, waiting for an answer from the likely future leader of the city.

"No," Elio replied, his voice filled with conviction. "I won't repeat your mistakes. I'll return to the Locus Sea and give invocations to everyone up to their maximum level, we'll overcome the levels, all of us... No secrets, no unnecessary sacrifices."

Elio's words resonated in the silence that followed.

The soldiers exchanged glances, processing the magnitude of what they were hearing.

Fathoran, for a moment, seemed disoriented. The certainty that had guided his actions for a century seemed to waver.

"Empty words," he growled, raising his sword once more. "You promise them a future you can't guarantee."

"I've given them hope and freedom," Elio responded, his voice firm despite his exhaustion.

Around them, the atmosphere changed. The soldiers who had previously watched paralyzed began to move. They approached, their faces reflecting a new determination.

Fathoran noticed it, his gaze scanning the ever-closer crowd. For the first time, a glimpse of real doubt crossed his face... But quickly, the doubt in his eyes was replaced by a fierce determination.

He would never accept it...

The silence that followed Elio's declaration was ephemeral, shattering like glass, giving way to a roar of fury that shook all present.

"This is your end, boy," Fathoran declared, his voice laden with a certainty that made the words sound like a death sentence.

Time seemed to slow down, each second stretching like an eternity.

Elio, with only one foot on the floor after stepping the sword attack, raised his hands in a gesture that seemed more like a plea than defense.

The stake shot out of Fathoran's hand, cutting through the air with a deadly whistle that seemed to announce the end of all hopes.

Fathoran Mana: 0

Elio, instead of dodging, fixed his eyes on the approaching projectile.

Several thoughts passed through his mind in a single instant: his family, his friends, the promises he had made...

In that last instant, when death extended its cold fingers towards him, something changed in Elio's gaze.

He was made of courage.

With an almost imperceptible movement, the result of hours of training and perfection, Elio activated advanced magnetism.

Elio Mana: 0

The stake, mere centimeters from his chest, abruptly deviated. In a fraction of a second that seemed to extend for an eternity, the stake orbited around Elio, as he turned on one foot gaining speed and power.

The stake, now converted into an unstoppable projectile powered by Elio's own power, embedded itself in Fathoran's chest with devastating force.

Fathoran, his eyes bulging with surprise that quickly turned to horror, barely had time to understand what was happening. His mouth opened in a silent scream, but it was already too late.

As if a thunderbolt had exploded in the room. The Founder's chest exploded in a macabre shower of blood and armor fragments, creating an image that would be forever etched in the memory of all present.

Fathoran: 0 Resistance

♢♢♢♢

Elio Von Elian's Statistics

Familiars:

Fire Salamander

Water Frog

Ice Rabbit

Wind Swift

Rock Elephant (+25 MD)

Level 5

Mana: 0/50

Resistance: 49/50 (+0)

Stamina: 1/10

Attack: 5

Magic Damage: 5 (+5)(+25) / (35)

Strength: 5

Defense: 5 (10)

Magic Defense: (5)

Speed: 5

Perception / Agility: 1.5

System's Armor / (Defense 5) (Magic Defense 5) (Magic Damage 5) (Resistance (0/500))